Terribly Dark Nails for a Terrifically Long Time

by Teen Vogue

Recently, I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to have a manicure at the adorable and posh Jin Soon Hand & Foot Spa on the Upper East Side. I'd never seen such an array of polish options, including elite brands like Chanel and hard-to-find shades that you rarely come across at your corner Manhattan manicurist.

Much to my mother's chagrin, I am a forever-fan of the almost-black Lindsay Lohan/Mary-Kate nail look. My favorites include Lincoln Park After Dark (OPI), Russian Navy (OPI), Black Satin (Chanel), and Lady Godiva (Essie). However, problems inevitably arise within two or three days of my vibrantly vampy manicure. I am constantly plagued by polish chipping. It seriously jeopardizes any elegance that my dark nails formerly possessed, and it even makes me wonder if maybe my mother is right: it's best to stick with pretty feminine nudes, beiges, and pinks.

However, my most recent manicure involved the application of-horror of
horrors-fake nails! I know that even the thought of it seems unclassy
and evokes visions of bad 80s hair bands and tinsel wigs (which, I
admit, are fabulous in their own right). However, this particular brand
of fake nails, the new Featherlight nail kit from KISS, are incredibly
comfortably and look just like my own finger nails (on their best day).
I can honestly say that I don't even notice them, except when I am
admiring the lustrous un-chipped surface of the Chanel Blue Satin
polish (a deep almost-black navy that is my new favorite). After ten
days of typing, tinkering with beauty product packaging, and toting
around town, my manicure is still practically perfect. A man on the
subway even commented on my nails as I was dashing off. He said in
amazement, "That is a serious manicure!"

I feel a bit indestructible and more street-smart with the KISS Featherlights. They're like my mini shields from the raucous mania of Manhattan. They actually protect the natural nails and help them to grow. The only downside is that they're a little unpleasant to remove (unless you⿿re fond of the strong scent of nail polish remover), since you have to vigogously brush the nails in an acetone solution for up to fifteen minutes (and they melt right off). The headache of removing them may be a worthy high style sacrifice. It⿿s only $5.99 for a kit and you can get them at almost any pharmacy. So if you're into dramatic dark lacquers, or you just hate the sight of your real nails, take a little nod from the glam rock gods.